Belt and Road Forum 2023

Belt and Road Forum 2023

October 17–18, 2023 saw the holding of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, China. Leaders and delegates from more than 150 nations and thirty international organizations were present at the forum.

The topic for the 2023 Belt and Road Forum was “High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity.” The forum’s main topic of discussion was how to advance the Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) sustainable development and high-quality collaboration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged increased international cooperation to create a more open, inclusive, and linked world in his keynote address at the opening ceremony. Along with this, he unveiled several new projects to boost BRI collaboration, like as a $100 billion infrastructure investment fund and the Silk Road Scholars program.

More than 200 agreements for cooperation in commerce, business, infrastructure, and cultural exchanges were inked by attendees of the event. A number of new BRI initiatives were also introduced at the summit, like as the Belt and Road Green Development Alliance and a new Silk Road E-commerce Platform.

Promoting excellent Belt and Road collaboration and sustainable development was a successful endeavor of the BRF 2023. The forum also contributed to the development of a more open, welcoming, and connected global community and strengthened international cooperation. 

Here are some of the key outcomes of the BRF 2023:

  • More than 200 agreements for cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, trade, investment, and cultural exchanges were inked. A number of new Belt and Road Initiatives were also introduced, such as the Belt and Road Green Development Alliance and the new Silk Road E-commerce Platform.

  • Participants called for increased international cooperation to create a more open, inclusive, and interconnected world. President Xi Jinping announced a number of new initiatives to support BRI cooperation, including a $100 billion infrastructure investment fund and a new Silk Road Scholars program.

  • An important development in the BRI’s history was the BRF 2023. It proved how widely accepted the BRI is on a global scale and how committed nations are to collaborating to achieve excellent cooperation and sustainable development.

Belt and Road Initiative and Nepal

The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) ended on October 18 in Beijing, with two projects from Nepal included in the conclusion paper. Nepal was represented at the meeting by Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs.

The Panda Pack Project and the Amity Living Water Project were acknowledged by the Chinese in a statement issued on October 18 as being a component of the Belt and Road Initiative. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and Alibaba Philanthropy collaborated to launch the Panda Pack Project in February 2019. Improving the learning environment for underprivileged primary school pupils and advancing high-quality education in recipient nations are its two main objectives. The project was operational in Nepal, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan, and Namibia by 2020, and it had benefited 742,151 students.

Since its registration as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Lalitpur in 2015, the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation has effectively carried out a number of development assistance projects in Nepal that are tailored to the needs of the region. These programs support the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN, which include reducing poverty and hunger, enhancing health and wellbeing, providing clean water and sanitation, promoting decent work, and stimulating the economy.

A cross-border railway and the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network were included in the outcome paper of the 2019 Belt and Road summit. Despite Nepal’s signing of China’s BRI framework agreement in 2017, some contend that no significant projects have been discussed or started since.

China has started a feasibility study for the Kerung-Kathmandu railway within this framework, and the project is anticipated to be finished in about 4 years.

There is disagreement regarding the Pokhara International Airport project’s standing within the Belt and Road Initiative. The Nepali government refuted any signed projects under the BRI flagship, despite the Chinese embassy’s early claims that it was a flagship initiative in the country. The Chinese side then seemed to have withdrawn their claim.

The Amity Living Water Project in Nepal is the second project mentioned in the third BRI conference’s outcome paper. Faith-based Chinese non-governmental organization Amity Foundation China is committed to international social development, especially in the area of water and sanitation. The Social Welfare Council’s website states that donations from the Amity Foundation China have been given to Transform Nepal Sarlahi.